Shadow of Darkness
by Finalfantasyfreaks13
Summary: set after the conclusion of Deltora Quest 3. Lief and Jasmine submit to their feelings but things don't go as planned and the unexpected becomes reality. ENJOYYY! New chapter is now up! hope you like it. Don't forget to review!
1. Confessions

Chapter 1: Confessions

**_Hey hey, alright well this is our first fanfiction, we tried. we are quite big fans of Deltora Quest, both the book and the anime series (more the book). This is set after Deltora Quest 3, it is focused on Lief and Jasmine's new found feelings for eachother, but hings aren't as they seem and things slowly go from bad to worse. anywhoooo, enjoy and please R&R :) please be gentle with us. _**

_**DISCLAMER: WE DON'T OWN ANYTHING! :( **_

Lief and Jasmine watched as the sun set over the palace gardens. The sun's rays glistening over the pond into the faces of the young companions. Lief raised a hand to his forehead to block the reflection from his eyes.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" said Jasmine softly, as she took in the breathtaking sight.

"Are you happy Jasmine?" Lief asked cautiously.

"What do you mean, Lief?" she replied curiously.

"I know it's not where you always imagined yourself to be, but I just want you to know that nothing makes me happier then to have you here... with me"

Jasmine stared at him in awe. What had Lief meant by '_nothing makes me happier then to have you here...with me.'_ Was it possible; does this mean he felt the same way?She was snapped back to reality by the distant murmur she just made out to be her name.

"Jasmine?"

"Of course I'm happy here wi – Her voice seemed to failed her before she could finish. She looked up at his face, his eyes seemingly set on her. She could feel her face beginning to blush. "Lief I really am happy here with you. I couldn't imagine being here without you."

"R-r-really?" He said. A grin creeping across his face.

"Really." That same smile appearing on her face.

Lief put his hands around her slim waist, bringing them together into a tight embrace. Jasmine placed her hands around his neck, playing with his dark curls. He placed his forehead on hers and they were staring into each other's eyes lovingly. Without thinking about it, they both leaned in and kissed each other. Melting into each other's arms, their kissed deepened; it seemed as if the world around them had just disappeared.

They finally broke apart and together they collapsed under the oak tree in the garden. Lief put his arms around her shoulder and they leaned back against it. Jasmine nuzzled into him, listening to the slow beating of his heart.

"Jasmine...I need to tell you something." His heart began beating rapidly.

"What is it Lief?"

He leaned in so he was millimetres from her ear. "Jasmine." His voice was all but a slight whisper. "I love you."

She smiled into his neck and leant up so was closer to his ear. "Lief, I love you too."

Lief smiled and took her into a kiss and she melted into it. He lay down on top of her to deepen the kiss further. Jasmine's hands entangled themselves in Lief's soft, dark curls and he ran his fingers down her back.

After realising how long they had been sitting there they decided to make their way back to the palace. Lief offered her a hand up, she took it without question. Then they walked hand in hand back to the warmth of the palace.

_**Hope you enjoyed chapter 1, we tried ever so hard. more to be added soon. Don't forget to R&R we would love to hear your opinions and advice, as well as praise. Again hope you enjoyed it. :) O and C signing off, till next time.** _


	2. Sleepless Night

Chapter 2: Sleepless Night

_**DISCLAMER: WE DON'T OWN ANYTHING! :( **_

Jasmine tore through her bedroom door, slamming it close behind her. She stumbled to her bed, her heart racing faster than ever before.

_I can't believe it! He kissed me, he actually kissed me!_

She tried to sleep, but her mind was still buzzing on the events that had happened not so long ago. When she did final slip into a dream, they were only full of images of Lief.

She woke early the next morning, having not gotten much sleep that night. She was getting dressed when there was a sudden knock on door. She hastily put on the rest of her clothing and opened the door.

"I thought that you might want some breakfast, so I made this for you." said Lief with a slight twinkle in his eye.

Jasmine looked down at it in surprise; no one had ever done anything like that for her before. She took the tray from his hands and beaconed him inside. Once inside she abandoned the tray and without thinking she attacked his lips with hers, kissing him passionately. Lief responded with such enthusiasm that he lifted Jasmine off her feet. He carried her to the bed and laid her down gently still maintaining their kiss. Finally they broke apart, panting slightly, Lief laughed.

"What?" Jasmine asked with a confused look.

"Remind me to make you breakfast more often." He replied as a smile stretched across his face.

Jasmine let out a sniff of annoyance. Lief noticed this and smiled cheekily and started tickling her mercilessly.

"Lief, STOP, stop it!" she said half giggling half yelling.

Lief finally stopped and brought her into a tight embrace, kissing her forehead softly. He smiled as he looked down into her emerald green eyes, with Jasmine in his arms he felt complete.

There was a loud knock on the door and a loud thundering voice came from the other side.

"Jasmine, are you in there?"

The two young lovers realised that they had fallen asleep in each other's arms. They quickly separated as the door swung open.

"Lief what are you doing in here?" Doom asked his faced creased with concern.

"I -I –I was just b-brining Jasmine some bre-e-akfast." Lief replied trying not to stutter.

"Well your needed down in the meeting room." Doom replied sceptically.

Lief nodded and headed towards the door. He looked back and meet Jasmines eyes he mouthed the words "see you later tonight." He smiled cheekily and left.

Doom looked at Jasmine sternly.

"So would you like to explain to me what happened?"

"What do you mean?" Jasmine could feel her face beginning to blush.

"Never mind." Doom replied.

He left the room leaving Jasmine alone with her thoughts. Her face still blushing. She simply looked out the window, waiting for nightfall so she could be with her beloved again.

_**Hope you enjoyed chapter 2. :) PLEASE R&R. **_

_**3 O and C**_


	3. Proposal

Chapter 3: Proposal

_**DISCLAMER: WE DON'T OWN ANYTHING! :( **_

When the meeting finally concluded, Lief found himself half walking half sprinting towards Jasmine's room. He knocked on the door softly but there was no answer, he opened the door. Jasmine wasn't in her room, _'where could she be?' _Lief thought to himself then it hit him; she must be in the gardens.

Lief made his way to the garden and of course there she was sitting underneath her favourite tree, seemingly lost in thought. He started walking over to her, when he reached her she smiled at him widely.

"Lief!" she said with a loving look on her face.

"Jasmine. What are you doing out here it's freezing?" Lief said as he put his arms around her, bringing her into a tight embrace.

"I just came out here to get some air." She said as she nuzzled into him, gaining comfort from his warmth.

"I was worried when I didn't find you." He said as he tightened his grip on Jasmines shoulders.

"Why?" Jasmine asked, suddenly realising how stupid her response must have sounded.

"I thought maybe you left, I know that you feel isolated here and you would rather be in the Forest of Silence, where you are free and not cooped up." He said looking at the floor.

Jasmine put her fingers under his chin and lifted it so she was looking straight into his eyes. She had always loved his eyes.

"Lief, I would never leave you because I love you." jasmine said as she softly kissed his cheek.

"I love you too jasmine, that's why I have to ask you something important." Lief changed his position so he was looking straight into her beautiful face.

"Jasmine." he murmured.

"Yes Lief." She replied heart racing.

"Marry me." He asked

Jasmine's eyes widen. It was as if the air had been knocked out her. His heart skipped a beat, he moved in front of and produced a ring from the inside his shirt and offered it to her.

"Yes" she just managed to say.

Lief was overjoyed, he lifted Jasmine off her feet into a tight embrace, spinning her around. He kissed her passionately; she melted into their kiss deepening it. When they finally broke apart they smiled staring into each other's eyes affectionately.


	4. Explanations

Chapter 4: Explanations

_**DISCLAMER: WE DON'T OWN ANYTHING! :( **_

Jasmine and Lief called their parents down to the meeting room; this was the moment when they would reveal to their parents that they had expressed their feeling towards each other and have decided that they can't live without the other. They were to tell them of their marriage.

You could've cut the tension in the room with a knife. It wasn't clear who was more nervous; Jasmine who would typically be so strong minded was currently trying to keep a level head. Or Lief who has always been courageous in difficult situations was finding it hard to find the right words. He found sudden comfort as he felt Jasmine's hand slide into his own.

"Everything will be fine." Jasmine reassured Lief with an encouraging smile.

"I know." He said as he kissed Jasmine's fore head softly.

As Doom and Sharn entered the room he tightened his grip on Jasmine's hand as if it was his lifeline. Doom eyed him suspiciously, Lief could feel the intensity of his gaze, it made him feel more nervous about the major decision that he and Jasmine had decided to take together. Sharn was the first to speak.

"So why have you called us down? Is something the matter?

"No nothing is wrong." Lief replied.

"Then why have you called us down?" Doom intervened.

"Well you see….the thing is me and Lief have something to tell you."

Jasmine gave Lief one last sideways glance. Lief gave her an encouraging nod that gave her the courage to continue.

"Doom, Sharn. Lief and I are getting married!"

_**We appoligise for the shortness of this chapter, we had no clue what to write, but we will make it up in the next few chapters as they are really really long. :) PLEASE R&R**_

**_3 O and C_**


	5. Unexpected

Chapter 5: Unexpected

_**DISCLAMER: WE DON'T OWN ANYTHING! :( **_

Sharn was ecstatic about the news she had just heard. Her son was finally getting married and as he had told her chosen to marry for love. As she looked at the two lovers her heart filled with happiness.

Doom remained his seat his face emotionless. Jasmine saw this and walked over to her father; she put her hand on his shoulder and stared into his stressed face. He looked up at his daughters face.

"Father?" jasmine asked her voice full of concern.

Doom merely looked up at his daughters emerald green eyes. She looked so much like her mother. At the thought of Anna he felt his heart break, he missed her dearly.

"Tell me Jasmine, when did you grow into such a beautiful young woman?" he asked as he pulled his daughter into a tight embrace.

"I don't know." She said as her face began to blush. "When did you become so soft, father?"

Jasmine laughed at her father, seeing the sour face he was displaying. Doom took Jasmine's small hand in his own and lead her over to Lief and Sharn; he felt his heart warm as he saw Lief and Jasmine together.

"Let's get started on this wedding then." Sharn exclaimed as she smiled at the two young lovers in front of her.

Soon it was spring and their wedding was upon them. Lief was in his room putting the belt of Deltora around his waist, he looked in the mirror, how things have changed he was no longer that 16 year old boy that teased grey guards in the streets of Del, but the king of Deltora. He was startled by a loud knock on the door it was Barda.

"Let's go Lief you don't want to be late for your own wedding do you?" The big man asked smiling.

"Hey Barda, can I ask you something?"

"What is it Lief?"

"Were you nervous for your wedding?"

Barda simply laughed at the childish question Lief asked, he put his huge hand on Lief's head and ruffled his hair playfully. Lief shook his hand off his hair and smiled up at Barda. Lief found comfort in the big man's juvenile behaviour. The two friends headed out towards the palace hill.

Meanwhile Jasmine was in her room gazing at the green silk dress that lay before her. Never had she seen such beauty. She held it in her hands; it was a beautiful shade of forest green. She slipped into it; it was gentle against her bare skin. Jasmine gazed in amazement at her reflection in mirror, her dark hair had been brushed and flowers woven into the curls, her dress flowed behind her in a wave of silk. She then headed towards the door and made her way down to the palace garden where she knew Lief would be waiting for her.

The palace was decorated for the wedding. Flowers and ribbons could be seen wherever you looked. The gardens were full of citizens anxious to see the marriage of the young king. It seemed that the whole of Del showed up to witness this special event. There were many familiar faces present such as Gla-thon, Fa-Glin and Pi-Ban from Dread Mountain accompanied with the gentle kin, Ailsa, Bruna, Merlin and Prin. Manus and the people of Raladin who were filling the air with their exquisite music. Zeean and the citizens of Tora also attended. Every friend the companions had made on their travels was present, wishing the young couple all the best.

Lief stood on the hill waiting for the arrival of his beloved Jasmine, Barda stood beside Lief and they both waited in silence. Jasmine finally arrived and took her place next to Lief, she smiled at him trying to contain her nerves. Lief grasped her hand, it instantly soothed her.

Just as the ceremony had concluded, screams filled the air the two lovers turned in sync, weapons drawn, they were unaware of what had happened. A young woman appeared to have pushed her way through the crowd, her clothes covered in blood, the hilt of a blade visible in her lower abdomen. She collapsed in front of Lief and Jasmine; they looked around franticly for any sign of the assailant. Barda was yelling orders to the guards, then set off with Doom to help with the search. Sharn and Marilen took Josef into the safety of the castle while Ranesh helped lead everyone to the exits, leaving Lief and Jasmine alone with the young woman.

Lief leant down next to the woman and examined her, it seemed she was clutching a note in her hand. Lief managed to pry it from her closed hand, his eyes seemed to widen at the contents of the note. Jasmine saw this and pulled the note from his hand.

**_The shadow lord has ordered you to eliminate king Lief. The best time to strike will be at his wedding, as a citizen of Del you will be able to enter without any suspicion. If you hesitate to complete this order then it is you who will be eliminated. Do not fail us. _**

**_A_**

Jasmine laid a reassuring hand on Lief's back; she could feel his muscles tense at her touch. She lifted his head so he meet her gaze, his eyes swimming in fear. Jasmine lifted Lief to his feet and led him to the palace.

_**We told you so, the next few chapters will be around this length. Hope you are enjoying the story so far. :) PLEASE R&R!**_

_**3 O and C**_


	6. Cloak of Darkness

Chapter 6: Cloak of Darkness

_**DISCLAMER: WE DON'T OWN ANYTHING! :( **_

When they were inside the palace they found all their friends in the meeting room. As they sat down in their usual seats, Barda and Doom revealed what they had found.

"It seems the woman entered with all the other citizens, we were unable to identify who or where she came from and what she was doing. All we know is he was stabbed at the edge of the gardens." Barda explained.

"I know why she was here." Lief said his voice unsteady. He slipped the note onto the table, Doom and Barda began reading the note, when they finished they both stared at Lief who had his head in his hands. Jasmine had moved behind him and placed he hands on his shoulders.

"Lief, we need to keep you safe. If anything were to happen to you we would have no heir to take over the belt." Barda began.

"What about Marilen, couldn't she, I mean that was the reason that we brought her here in the first place she was to be heir if anything was to happen to me." Leif looked directly at Marilen when he spoke.

Marilen refused to look Lief in the eyes. "Listen Lief, I was going to tell you, I know I was meant to take over if you were unable, but I just don't think I can." She said her eyes to the floor.

"As you see without an heir, we can't risk losing you Lief." Doom added.

"We will have guards on patrol at all hours of the day, to ensure your safety." Barda explained.

Lief merely nodded, took Jasmine's hand and left the room not muttering a single word. They walked towards their room passing guards that had already been placed on patrol. When they reached their room they found the window open letting in the ice cold breeze, Lief walked towards the window and closed it, something caught his eye in the reflection. A dark figure stepped forward; it was covered in a long black cloak, it looked as if it was under a sheet of darkness.

Lief spun around drawing his sword, before Jasmine could draw her dagger the dark figure was upon her a knife pressed to her throat.

"Drop you weapon, unless you want to see your beautiful wife perish." The rough voice demanded.

"Alright, just don't hurt her." Lief pleaded, seeing small drops of blood appearing on Jasmine's neck.

He placed his sword on the floor. The dark figure chuckled, he still had Jasmine in a tight hold even though she struggled and fought violently.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Lief demanded.

"I am an assassin, sent by the shadow lord and for what I want well that's something you will have to wait and see." His rough voice replied.

Jasmine final broke free of the dark figure's crushing grip. "Well I guess there is no time to waste then." Lief launched himself at the dark figure, it moved with remarkable speed even evading Jasmine's attacks.

The dark figure managed to reach the window without once being hit, it turned and jumped out the window leaving no trace of even being in the room. Lief ran to the window, the ice cold breeze hitting his face like frozen blades, he couldn't see any sign of the assassin.

At that moment two guards entered the room. "We heard a commotion. Is everything alright?"

Lief turned to face the guards, he wanted to tell them but choose not to he would talk to Doom and Barda about it tomorrow.

"Everything is fine." Lief said with a faint smile.

"If you need anything we will be outside." With that the guards left leaving Lief and Jasmine alone again.

Jasmine looked at Lief in surprise. "Why didn't you tell them?"

"I think it's time we were left alone tonight. If I told them then we wouldn't hear the end of it." He said as he checked Jasmine's neck, there was a small cut where the blade had been placed to her throat, he produced a cloth from inside his pocket and placed it on Jasmine's neck.

"Besides, it's our wedding night, wouldn't you rather be alone?" He said with a cheeky smile.  
>Jasmine returned the smile and spear tackled him to the bed. Their hearts filled with joy as the young couple shared their most passionate kiss yet, on their wedding night.<p>

_**it may be a while before we upload anymore chapters :( as we are still writting them and have our school exams now. D: anyway hope you enjoyed this so far for all who are still reading it. :) we love you all.**_

_**3 O and C**_


	7. Nightmares

Chapter 7: Nightmares

Jasmine woke the next morning in Lief's arms, the memories of the blissful night flooding through her mind. She looked up at Lief, it seems that he was having a nightmare; his forehead was beaded with sweat, the muscles in his neck twitching.

"Lief, wake up." Jasmine said as she tried to wake her sleeping husband. She shook Lief vigorously, he didn't seem to stir. She didn't know what was going on in Lief's mind.

**_It was raining hard against his face; he was squinting to keep the rain out of his eyes. It was incredibly difficult to see what was happening around him with rain falling all around him. He managed to figure out where he was, he was down at the forge standing outside the gate, there was screams originating from inside the forge. He recognised the screams, it was Jasmine. He ran as fast as his legs would take him, bursting through the front door of the forge he saw Jasmine's small figure on the floor surrounded by blood. His heart sank, what had happened, why wasn't he with her, who would do such a thing? There was a snicker from the darkness behind him, he turned and to his surprise there stood the assassin a blood soaked knife in his hand. Lief's anger rose to the point where he couldn't keep it under control anymore, he launched at the dark figure only to realise that it was no longer there but on the other side of the forge. How did it move so fast Lief thought to himself, there must be a way to defeat him but how? Suddenly there was a small gasping sound, Lief turned around franticly, it was Jasmine, he ran to her side lifting her head so he could see into her face. _**

**"_Lief, you came for me." She said hardly keeping her eyes open_**

**"_Of course I did, I will always come for you Jasmine." Lief said as warm tears trickled down his cheeks._**

**_He felt a warm hand on his cheek, he looked down at Jasmine, her face was full of love, he put his hand to Jasmine's and nuzzled into her touch. Jasmine's eyes closed and her hand feel from Lief's face, Lief felt his heart break, he couldn't protect the woman he loved and now, now she was gone. _**

**"_I'm sorry Jasmine." Lief said as he kissed Jasmine on the head softly._**

**_Lief's anger rose as he heard the loud snickering arise from the dark depths of the forge, he softly placed Jasmine's head on the floor as he got up, he looked back at her lifeless face, it looked as if she was asleep. He could feel the tears stream down his cheeks again._**

**"_If only you handed the Belt over to the shadow lord, your little wifey would of still been here." A rough voice seemed to echo all around him._**

**"_WHO ARE YOU?" Leif yelled into the darkness, tears still streaming down his cheeks._**

**"_You will know soon enough, king Lief." The voice seemed to fade away._**

Lief woke up shaking, sweat beaded his face; he looked around franticly taking in his surroundings. He felt a warm hand on his cheek, it almost instantly soothed him. Lief looked down at Jasmine her face was full of concern.

"Lief, are you okay? You were having a terrible nightmare."

"Are you sure, it felt…it felt almost real." His heart sunk as he recalled the horrifying images that he had just witnessed.

"Lief, what happened?" Jasmine asked her voice full of concern.

Lief looked at his wife, he could see that this was causing her much displeasure. He took her small hands in his own. He took a deep breath and looked Jasmine straight in the eyes, his gaze was intense.

"I couldn't protect the one I loved." He tightened his grip on jasmine's small hands. "I couldn't protect you." He said holding back his tears.

Jasmine stared at Lief in astonishment; she had never seen him like this, she could see the tears swelling in his eyes.

"Jasmine, I promise you, I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe." He said pulling her closer to him.

"I know you will Lief, and I would do the same for you." Jasmine replied.

The two, realising how late it was, got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast. When the two reached the kitchen they meet Sharn, Barda, Lindal and Doom who smiled as the young couple sat down at the table.

"Why hello, your majesties." Barda said as he bowed

Lief and Jasmine shot him a warning look, which to his distaste accepted. After they had all eaten their fill, Lief asked Barda and Doom to join him in private. As soon as they were in private they began.

"What is it Lief?" Barda asked.

"Last night, in our room, we were attacked. I'm not sure if it was the same person from the wedding of someone completely different, but they were intent on harming Jasmine and me." Lief explained to Barda and Doom.

"DAMN IT!" Barda yelled, slamming his enormous fists on the table.

"How does he keep getting in without being seen?" Doom thought out loud. "It's as if he moves through the shadows."

"We need a way to corner him, and then we can take him down." Barda said.

"It's no use Barda, he moves to quick to corner him, what we need is more guards on patrol, make sure they check the windows and doors." Lief added.

They all agreed to this plan as it was the only reasonable one they had come up with so far. Lief left the room satisfied, he went in search of Jasmine to tell her of the plan he, Doom and Barda had thought of. He headed towards the kitchen; the only ones left were Sharn and Lindal.

"Hey guys have you seen Jasmine?" Lief asked.

"Not in a while, no." Sharn said. "She left a little while ago she was heading towards the forge."

"The Forge." Lief asked confused. "Why would she be going to the forge?"

Sharn shrugged, this was strange, Jasmine usually stayed inside the palace walls. Why would she be leaving now? Even worse, the assassin could be anywhere, did she realise how dangerous it was. With that Lief headed towards the forge where he hoped Jasmine would be.

Jasmine walked around the forge, it was so peaceful. She listened to the rhythmic tweets of the birds and the slow rustling of the trees, it reminded her so much of home, of Filli and Kree who had started families of their own. How she missed her friends, but to know they were happy gave her great joy. She sat underneath a tall oak tree; she couldn't help but fall asleep.

As Lief neared the forge he saw jasmine, who had managed to fall asleep. He was filled with relief at the site if her knowing that she was safe. Lief reached her and lightly shook her shoulders.

"Jasmine, Jasmine, it's time to get up."

She groaned in annoyance, batting his hand away. Lief laughed, he leaned down and picked her up in his arms. She nuzzled into his arms; he carried her to the forge and placed her on the bed. He decided to stay in the forge till Jasmine awoke, walking around the forge brought back memories, and he found in one of the rooms his toy kin who he had named Monty.

He walked back into the bedroom where Jasmine lay sleeping. He smiled and walked over to a nearby chair and slowly he drifted into sleep.

**_He yelled as Jasmine's figure started fading into the darkness that engulfed him. He screamed and yelled but no sound left his lips. He began running after her, but he couldn't reach her, slowly his legs gave and he fell to the floor panting._**

**"_Once again king Lief, you have failed to protect your beloved." The rough voice Lief had come to know as the assassins said through the darkness. _**

**_Lief turned around to see the a solid figure emerge out of the surrounding shadows, Lief ran up and grabbed his shirt, shaking his furiously. The figure merely evaporated in Lief's hands, he turned around franticly trying to find any sign of the assassin or Jasmine._**

**_There was a sharp sudden pain in Lief's abdomen, he looked down, there was a gaping wound from his hip to his chest. He fell to the floor with a grunt, how had this happened?_**

**"_Well isn't this a sight to remember." The assassin said clearly humoured._**

**_Lief looked up at him, sweat dripping down his face, it was difficult to move with his wound. He managed to get to his feet, his right arm clutching his chest. The assassin was laughing at Lief's feeble attempt. The dark figure drew his sword._**

**"_You're time is up king Lief." The assassin said raising his sword, he lunged at Lief._**

Lief woke with a fright, still sitting in the chair, he looked around desperately for Jasmine. She was still sound asleep under the sheets, how long had she been asleep, Leif thought to himself, better question was how long had he been asleep.

He looked out the window it was already dark, he decided instead of walking all the way back to the palace he will stay at the forge. He walked over to Jasmine; she had been sleeping most of the day, he brushed the hair out of her face and kissed her forehead softly. Lief got into the bed besides jasmine and started to drift into sleep. It had been a long day.


	8. Terrors In The Night

Chapter 8: Terrors in the night

The assassin walked through the dense trees towards the faint glow of the forge, his long cloak flowing behind him. As he neared the forge, the light from the window outlined his figure, a silhouette in the night.

He peered into the window, it seemed as if the forge was empty... but then why were the lights on? He walked around to another window, through the window he saw two sleeping figures that he knew would be the king and queen of Deltora.

from inside his sleeve, he produced a small black snake, which slowly curled around his hand. He lifted the snake towards the window, it squeezed through the small opening with ease. It slowly slithered towards the sleeping figures, it's small beady eyes locked onto Lief.

The black snake managed to make it to the bed and was now centimetres from Lief's head. it hissed ready to strike, it's fangs glistening with venom. At that moment a familiar screech echoed through the forge, it was Kree. Jasmine awoke to the noise, realising what was going on she grabbed her dagger and swung violently at the black snake, cutting it cleanly in half. Lief awoke to the sudden movements, he stared at Jasmine dagger in hand and a black mass on the floor still wriggling.

"Jasmine...what..what happened?" Lief asked still staring at the black mass.

"I don't know, I just heard Kree and when I woke up, I saw the snake." Jasmine said as she stroked Kree's feathers.

Lief looked around, he had a feeling that the snake was sent to attack him but by who? Then he saw it in the window a distorted figure slowly walking into the darkness. He ran out of the room, ignoring Jasmine's pleads. He ran out into the yard, the darkness quickly engulfing his figure.

"COME OUT YOU COWARD!" Lief yelled into the pitch black of the night.

"As you wish." The rough voice echoed around him.

As the cloak figure emerged in front of Lief, his slow steps hardly making noise as they made their way closer to Lief.

"So we finally meet king Lief."

"Yes, now who are you really?" Lief asked trying to hold himself back.

"If you insist." The rough voice said. It's hand reaching for it's cloak.

In a swift move, the long cloak had floated to the floor revealing the figure underneath. Lief's eyes widened in horror at the sight of the man that stood before him, it made his skin crawl.

The cloaked figure was a sight Lief had not seen before in his life. He looked into the milk white eyes, they sent shivers down his spine. It's flesh seemed to peel of revealing the muscle and bone that lay underneath. The cloaked figure laughed as Lief stared in horror.

"Are you surprised King Lief?" He asked with a side smirk.

"Who are you?" Lief asked still staring in horror.

"My name is Arkus, servant to the shadow lord. My mission is to destroy you, King Lief." Arkus said as he drew his sword from his cloak on the floor.

Lief drew his sword as well, the moonlight reflecting of the blade. He launched himself at Arkus, Lief could fell the hilt of a blade make contact with his neck. Arkus was standing over Lief as he lay helpless on the soft ground.

Jasmine ran outside when she saw a man standing over Lief. She had her blade ready as she started runnning towards Lief and the unknown man.

"JASMINE! NO DON'T COME ANY CLOSER! Lief bellowed at Jasmine.

She ignored his pleads and continued to run at the unknown man.

"JASMINE, NO!" Lief screamed.

Jasmine ran towards the unknown man, her dagger in hand. The unknown man began to laugh as he saw Jasmine running towards him.

"Stupid girl." Arkus laughed.

Lief managed to pry himself of the cold ground, he tackled Arkus causing him to fall to the floor. Lief didn't realise how hard he hit Arkus, but he was on the floor unconscious. Jasmine ran to embrace Lief, he hugged her tightly.

"I told you not to come any closer." Lief said as he buried his face in her soft curls.

"Lief I couldn't just leave you." She replied lovingly playing with his dark hair. She stepped back a bit from Lief. "What are we going to do with him?" Jasmine asked staring at the unconscious figure that was Arkus.

Lief looked over to Arkus, an idea sprung into his mind, he ran into the forge Jasmine in tow behind him. Inside they gathered rope and found a sturdy chair; Lief ran back outside and carried the unconscious Arkus back inside where Jasmine was waiting rope in hand.

Arkus awoke surprised to find that he was tied to a chair. He felt a cold sensation on his neck, which he knew was the blade of a sword, he chuckled.

"So you finally captured me king Lief." He said with a sinister smile.

"Yes I have, now you're going to tell me something. What do want from me?" Lief demanded as he pushed his sword a little deeper into the flesh of Arkus's neck.

Arkus squirmed as the shard blade was pressed against his exposed neck. "ALRIGHT, alright, I'll talk. I was sent by the shadow lord to kill the king of Deltora, his wife and the wretched heir she carries."

Lief immediately looked back at Jasmine, who's eyes where wide with shock, she instinctively put a hand to her stomach. She began to sob quietly, all Lief wanted to do was comfort his wife but there was one thing he had to do.

He pulled Arkus closer to him. "Now you listen here, you tell the shadow lord and all your little friends that if they even think about harming my family or me then I will personally take each and every one of their lives. GOT IT!" Lief yelled at Arkus, hatred dripping from his lips.

With that Lief plunged his sword right into Arkus's heart, the figure immediately evaporated into a small cloud of dust that fell to the floor of the forge. Lief let his sword slip from his grip as he slowly walked to Jasmine, who was still silently sobbing, and pulled her into him tightly and kissed her head trying to sooth her. He picked Jasmine up in his arms and took her towards the bedroom, she snuggled into his chest. Once they reached the bedroom Lief tucked Jasmine into the bed as one would tuck in a small child, then he climbed into bed with her. He pulled Jasmine close to him and let her fall asleep in his arms, when Lief noticed he was asleep he placed his hand on her stomach and smiled, he let sleep consume him once again and slipped into a deep sleep.

Lief awoke the next morning to an empty bed.


	9. Arguments

**Hello again. It has been a while, yes I admit it. Hope you enjoy anyway :) xx**

Chapter 9: Arguments

The shadow lord's anger could be felt all throughout the Shadowlands, as the shocking news of what happened to Arkus reached him.

"SEND IN NICHOLAS!" The Shadow Lord's voice thundered.

Seconds later, a figure emerged from the shadows.

"Yes master?" Nicholas replied.

"As you may know Arkus has failed to eliminate King Lief, his Queen and heir. Now it is up to you. If you fail to eliminate the royal family all of my plans will become useless and an utter waste of time. Do not disappoint me." The Shadow Lord replied.

"It shall be done master." Nicholas responded, and with that he vanished.

"He better not fail me, otherwise my plans cannot be put into action."

*********************BACK AT THE FORGE**************************

"Jasmine!" Lief said as he searched around the room franticly for his wife.

"Jasmine, where are you?" He shouted as he walked towards the bathroom. His worries eased as he saw the familiar sight of his beautiful wife Jasmine.

"Jasmine! Are you alright?" Lief asked as he ran to her side, she was pale and beads of sweat covered her delicate face.

"I-I think so." Jasmine replied, as she tried to stand on wobbly legs.

She fell instantly into Lief's arms, he picked her up bridal style and carried her back into the bedroom.

"Just like our wedding night don't you think?" Lief asked Jasmine, referring to the way he was holding her, in an attempt to put a smile on her face. She laughed softly with a small smile slowly spread across her face.

He placed her in the bed and stroked her cheek softly; it pained him to see her like this. Lief ran into the other room to fetch a bucket of some cool water that he could use to cool Jasmine's burning forehead. Jasmine's eyes reluctantly fluttered closed, as the cool sensation accompanied by Lief's soothing voice eased her pain.

Soon Jasmine was sound asleep. After the events that happened last night Lief was very hesitant on leaving Jasmine alone, but he was needed up at the palace. He decided to send a message to his mother up at the palace. He quickly scribbled down the message and handed it to Kree, who had been sitting on bed beside Jasmine. He took it in his beak and flew towards the palace.

Sharn was running around the palace searching for her son, she headed out towards the gardens where she thought Lief would be; accompanied by Jasmine. As she neared the tree that the two were usually seen under she heard a familiar cry, to her surprise she saw Kree perched on a nearby branch, carrying a note in his beak. She took the note from Kree and began to read she could tell by the familiar hand-writing it was from Lief.

_Dear Mother, _

_Jasmine has taken ill. I have decided to stay here with her to make sure she is okay. I need you and Doom to head down to the forge as soon as you are no longer needed at the palace, there are urgent matters that need to be discussed._

_Lief_

Sharn ran back towards the palace in search of Doom. She burst through the door of his office and found him reading over his notes on dragons; he looked up at her astonished.

"Sharn what is the matter?" he asked realising she was panting.

Unable to say anything Sharn handed the note Lief sent over to Doom who read it silently. Once he finished he placed the note on his desk, he looked up at Sharn.

"What do you think he needs to talk about?" Doom asked with a concerned look.

"I'm not sure." Sharn replied. "I will be ready to leave after the next meeting; we shall meet at once down at the stables." After they both agreed Sharn left to her meeting leaving Doom with his thoughts.

After the meeting Sharn half ran half walked towards the stables. She saw Doom who was tending to the two saddled horses Bella and Swift, who Lief, Barda and Jasmine used on their many travels. As they neared the forge they saw the familiar sight of Lief who was waiting to meet them, Sharn jumped off Bella whom she was riding and ran to embrace her son. Lief, Sharn and Doom entered the forge and took a seat at the table.

"So Lief what is it you needed to talk to us about?" Sharn asked.

Lief remained silent, he did not know how to explain the situation to Sharn and Doom. "Lief just tell them." His head turned towards the soft voice, it was Jasmine. Lief ran up to his wife and helped her to the table as she still hadn't regained her strength.

"What's going on?" Doom said no longer sitting in silence.

Lief looked into Doom's stern face then into his mothers soft face. He felt Jasmine hand tighten on his own, with Jasmine by his side he felt the courage to go on.

"Last night we were attacked by an assassin of the Shadowlord, his name was Arkus, he also attacked us on our wedding night. He was sent to kill Jasmine and me as well as..."

"As well as who?" Doom asked curiously.

"As well as the heir to the throne." Lief said as he looked down into Jasmine's eyes lovingly.

Doom and Sharn were in shock at what they had just heard. They both stared, eyes wide, at Jasmine as she put her hand to her stomach and rubbed it softly.

"We need to make sure the royal bloodline continues." Doom said breaking the silence. "We will escort you back to the palace and make sure you are under the best protection available."

"NO!" Jasmine yelled unexpectedly.

"Why, what is the matter?" Doom asked.

"I want to stay at the forge, I feel more free down here without the walls of the palace around me, more relaxed, more at home. I want to raise this child in the forge just as Lief was." Jasmine explained looking lovingly at Lief, who smiled.

"I think we should stay here as well. It will be obvious if we stay in the palace, but if we stay in the forge no one will suspect it." Lief said trying to persuade Sharn and Doom.

"No, not a chance we need to keep all of you safe, the palace is the safest option." Doom replied.

"Hold on a second Doom." Sharn said. "Maybe they have a point."

"WHAT! Sharn think about the situation, the Shadowlord is trying to kill them, we need to keep them in the palace where they can be protected. If they are down here they have no protection." Doom explained.

Lief and Jasmine watched as their parents argued, yelling back and forth at each other. Jasmine had begun to feel sick and ran to the bathroom, Lief saw this and ran after her, Doom and Sharn who were still locked in their argument had not noticed the absence of the young couple.

Lief found Jasmine in the bathroom vomiting, he ran to his wife's side and pulled her luscious long dark hair out of the way. He had his hand on her back trying to sooth her, it pained him to know that he couldn't help her further, that the best he could do was be her support.

"Jasmine, are you alright?" Lief said once her sickness had died down.

"I am now, I just wish it would end." She said as she leant on Lief's chest.

"It's okay my love, I will be here for you, whenever you need me, I will be there." He said as he soothed her, softly rubbing her back.

After a while Lief and Jasmine walked back to the table to find that Doom and Sharn were still arguing on their living arrangements. They didn't seem to notice the two had ever left the table. Finally getting sick of the argument, Lief slammed his fists on the table startling everyone.

"THAT IS ENOUGH! We need to think about what is best for Jasmine and the baby. Since she is more comfortable here, I believe it would be best for us to stay here." Lief explained.

"That is a valid point Doom." Sharn added

Doom looked at them in surprise, they were right of course but he just wanted his daughter to be safe, somewhere where he could get to her. Finally he gave in to it.

"Alright then you can stay down here in the forge, but as a safety precaution there will be guards stationed around the forge night and day."

Sharn and Lief nodded in agreement, Jasmine let out a sigh as she preferred her privacy, but she understood where Doom was coming from and agreed to his idea. The four then sat at the table and celebrated the news of the new heir.

After a while Sharn and Doom decided that it was time to go back to the palace, they said goodbye to Lief and Jasmine and headed off into the night towards the palace. Lief and Jasmine retreated back to the bedroom and laid in the bed.

"Hey Jasmine." Lief asked

"Yes Lief."

"Do you think our child is going to be a boy or a girl?" He asked as he rubbed her stomach.

Jasmine chuckled. "I don't know Lief, but I hope it's a girl." She said as she smiled at him.

Lief mirrored her smile and kissed her, she wrapped her hands around her neck bringing them closer together. "I love you Lief." Jasmine whispered into his ear.

"I love you too Jasmine." Lief replied smiling. With that said they slowly drifted off into sleep in each others arms.

**Well there you have it another chapter down :) hope you like it for all those still reading!  
>3 O and C xx<strong>


	10. Who is he?

**What is this a new chapter? I would like to say I am really sorry but I can't escape the fact that I am lazy :P I could make up excuses that I'm drowning in assignments which is true, the laziness overcomes all hahaha. Anyway here is chapter 10 of Shadow of Darkness, I would like to dedicate this chapter to all those who have taken the time to read/review my story, you know who you are :) **

Chapter 10: Who is he?

********TIME SKIP IT IS NOW 5 MONTHS LATER FROM HERE ONWARDS*************

The sun's rays flowed down on the earth in constant waves revealing a hooded figure watching the events around him. He was near a small village, the sounds of laughing children accompanied with the yelling of merchants trying to sell their products to the public filled the air. The hooded figure had never seen such a scene, the scent of freshly baked bread filling his nostrils causing his mouth to water in anticipation. As he walked through the town taking in every little detail a small smile made its way onto his features, his mission seemed insignificant compared to the things transpiring around him. He stopped walking as he felt a tug at the bottom of his cloak, when he looked down his gaze locked with a wide-eyed child.

"Hey mister, why do you wear a cloak? You afraid of the sun or something?" the child asked with a sleepy smile revealing his missing teeth.

The hooded figure looked down at the small child, his face smeared with dirt and mud, his hazel eyes filled with excitement, his clothes ripped and torn, most likely due to the boys erratic behaviour, his light brown hair was scattered with small leaves and twigs. The hooded figure knelt down to the boys height and looked him dead in the eyes and a small chuckle escaped his lips.

"Not at all kid, I just that if I wear a cloak then I would stick out more, but it seems that didn't work out." The hooded figure replied mindlessly scratching the back of his head.

At first the boy looked up at the hooded figure with a confused look, then as if the answer hit him a huge grin enveloped his face and he laughed at the hooded figures stupidity.

"Well what makes you think we all walk around in cloaks, if you want to fit in I can help you." With that he garbed the hooded figures sleeve and lead him to a worn out old house.

The house itself was quite small, the walls were bombarded with cracks and chips, there was no bed just a small pile of hay. There was absolutely no sign of anyone else living here or to have lived here recently.

"Do you...live here by yourself kid?" The hooded figure asked curiously.

The small boy stopped dead in his tracks causing the hooded figure to almost trip over his small figure, the hooded figure could see a few small tears stream down the boys cheeks, the boy turned his head to avoid the hooded figures gaze. The hooded figure stooped down to the boys height and put a reassuring hand on his small shoulder, the small boy looked up into the figures covered face some lose tears still falling.

"hey don't worry it's okay you can tell me." The hooded figure said in a soft tone

"I-tt's m-m-y par-e-nts th-e-y-y th-e-y-y..."

At that the small boy ran to the hooded figure and enveloped him into a bone crushing hug, allowing all his tears to seep into his cloak. The hooded figure was taken aback from the boys sudden movements, eventually he allowed one of his hands to encircle around the boys back bringing him deeper into the hug, trying to wash away the fear and worry the boy was feeling. They stayed like that for awhile the boys crying had ceased and now he was sitting in the figures lap clutching onto his cloak as if he let go he would never come back.

"So kid what is your name? Unless you want me to keep calling you kid." The hooded figure said finally breaking t he silence.

"My name is Dan, may I ask what you're name is? Dan said as he looked up into the hooded man's face.

"My name is Nicholas." The hooded man replied.

"So Nicholas...can you show me what you look like now?" Dan asked his eyes filling with excitement.

"I ummm, I guess I can." Nicholas replied.

Bringing his hands up to his cloak he pulled it back showing the young boy what he really looked like. Dan hazel eyes locked onto Nicholas's blazing green eyes, he had untameable light brown hair that stood up at all different angles, his chin covered in a small patch of stubble. Nicholas smiled as the boy took in his face. Dan stood up and left the safety of his lap and disappeared around a corner, the sound of clothes getting scattered on the floor was all that could be heard. After a short wait Dan returned clothes in hand.

"Here you go Nicholas these should fit you." Dan said as he dumped the pile of clothes into Nicholas's open arms.

"Thank you Dan, also you may can me Nic if you want." With that he walked off to change his clothes.

"alright then Nic." Dan replied with a smug smile.

After changing his clothes Nic walked out wearing a simple white shirt covered with a light brown vest and black pants.

"See fits you like a glove." Dan smiled up to him.

"It's perfect thanks Dan." He replied ruffling the young boys light brown locks.

"So what would you like to eat?" Dan asked heading towards the small corner that Nic believed to be a make-shift kitchen.

"Nothing thanks I should really be on my way." Nic said picking up his cloak and placing it in a small pack.

At hearing this Dan ran up to Nic and snaked his hands around his leg, keeping him rooted to the spot. Nic looked down at the small boy currently attached to his leg.

"No Nic you can't leave!" Dan said voice muffled by the clothing on Nic's legs.

"I wish I could stay but...I have some important things I need to do in Del. I must leave immediately." Nic replied in the softest voice he could muster.

"Well then can I...can I come with you?" asked with a pleading tone.

Nic stood there for a while contemplating whether or not to allow this small boy accompany him on his mission to kill king Leif, queen Jasmine and the heir to the throne. He looked down at Dan his eyes filled with loneliness, he couldn't leave him alone.

"If that is what you want then let's get going." He said smiling down at Dan.

The small boys face instantly lit up as ran to find his travel pack, Nic chuckled at the boys expression it reminded him of someone he knew but he couldn't put his finger on who it was. When Dan came back Nic lifted him up onto his shoulder and they headed towards the city of Del where he was to end three lives, at the thought a sinister grin graced his lips.

The early morning sunlight found its way through the small window, it's rays licked the face of a young man. He opened his eyes groggily revealing his blue orbs. Lief realising if he didn't get up soon he would be late, tried to get out of bed but realised that there was a weight on his chest, he looked down and saw his wife sleeping peacefully her chest slowly rising and falling. He smiled at the site, his hand moved down to her now swollen belly softly tracing patterns across her skin not noticing a pair of a pair of beautiful green eyes watching him. Lief finally breaking out of his trance looked up to see a pair of spectacular eyes looking directly back.

"Hey, you're up, how did you sleep?" Lief asked bringing his hand up to caress her cheek softly.

Jasmine sighed into his hand before replying. "I slept alright, but this baby of yours is making me hungry." She said with a grin before slowly getting up and heading towards the kitchen. Unenthusiastically Lief leaves the warmth of his bed and heads for the kitchen after his wife. There had been no new incidents except what happened 4 months ago. The morning after the their visit from Doom and Sharn, guards have been set up around the forge to keep watch for any possible threats.

Entering the kitchen Lief sees a sight that brings a smile to his face; Jasmine was staring out the window watching the events of the day unfold in front of her, her hands wrapped securely over her swollen stomach, whispering quietly to the tiny life inside. Her attention snapped to her stomach as a wide grin spread across her face. She turned to Lief her eyes glistening her smile never fading.

Lief walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her protectively, his hands resting on her stomach. He could fell the little kicks and movements of their child under his hands, the same grin Jasmine had on her face was now spreading across that of Lief's. He leaned in close to her ear, his breath tickling her skin.

"I can't wait for this." We whispered into her ar. His lips brushing against her skin.

The sun beat down on two figures as they walked down the dilapidated trail, they had passed Tom's shop early that day buying the essentials. They decided that they would take a break and sat in the nearby shade of a tree, pulling out the food they had packed as well as some food they had purchased at Tom's beforehand. The small boy sighed as he leaned against the tree stump.

"what's the matter Dan? Not used to walking this far?" The older of the two asked.

Dan chuckled. "No it's not that, it's just..." He looked off into the direction they had just come from. "I'm going to miss that place."

Nic placed a hand on the small boys shoulder and knelt down to his eye level. "Don't worry your with me now, you don't have to worry about that old town of yours anymore." He said with a small smile.

The small boy wrapped his arms around Nic's neck bringing him into a crushing hug. "thank you" he whispered. A small smile grazed Nic's face as he hugged the small boy back. In a way he reminded him of someone he used to know, a bother perhaps?

Pulling back he laid his hand on the boys head and ruffled his light brown locks. "Time to rest, I'll wake you when we must be moving on." With that said the small boy returned to the comfort of the tree and let sleep take over his tired body.

Nic turned around and gazed in the direction of Del where his mission awaited him, it would still be a long while away around a 2 and a half month journey. All he knew was that he could not fail his master, if he did all will be lost. He turned towards the sleeping boy. 'I wonder if he will be able to handle what lies ahead, only time will tell.' He thought. Retuning his gaze to Del he whispered into the crisp air. "This will be the end of you, King of Del."

Just as he exited his thoughts, a rustling of leaves filled the air. He turned his attention towards the sound, sword in hand. Out of the bushes, a little while away, a small group of travellers came into view, one saw him standing there and waved him over. He hesitantly sheathed his sword and walked over to the small group of travellers, the group consisted of three men, two women and 1 small child.

"So what brings you out here stranger?" The oldest man asked he looked around 60 years old, his head dancing with grey hairs, his wrinkles giving him a serious expression.

"Nothing important." Nic responded in a monotone voice.

"It feels great to be able to travel around without the Shadow Lord's influence on the land." One of the women said.

"Yes , he was a plague on this land, all those who serve under him are scum." The youngest man spat. Hearing this caused a horrid feeling to travel up his back, he could feel it take over him, he could feel rage and anger consume his mind and soul. What was happening? Where did these sudden surges of hatred and anger come from? He clenched his fists, hard enough to draw blood. The youngest man saw this and placed a hand on Nic's shoulder.

"Hey are you alright?"

What happened next could only be described as shear chaos. Nic fell to one knee with a grunt his hands clasping his head in pain, his screams echoed through the woods. His eyes changed from his blazing green to a piercing red, the small group stumbled and crawled away from the thing before them. His entire body became encased in a deep red glow.

"So you think you have gotten rid of me, don't you?" He said as a dark chuckled escaped his lips.

The small group of travellers eyes grew wide in disbelief, there was no possible way, no possible way it was who they thought it was.

"Hmmm seems you have all figured it out, now that you know I can't let you leave." We stated as he began his walk towards them. The middle-aged man drew his sword and leapt between him and the rest of the travellers.

"there is no way I will let you touch them, Shadow Lord!" He shouted, anger lacing his voice. With that said he ran at the man in front of him, swinging his sword waiting for the impact of his sword hitting flesh. But it never came, the man in front of him had clasped his forearm before the sword was able to strike him. The middle-aged man look up in horror as a sinister smirk covered his face, in a swift move he tore the sword from the middle-aged man and snapped his arm in two. The middle-aged man screamed in pain as he grasped his broken arm, the Shadow lord hovered over the man as he tried to crawl away, he grabbed the middle-aged mans sword and before the middle-aged man could react sent it slashing through the man's neck, sending his head tumbling and his blood coating the sword as well as coating the clothes that covered the Shadow Lords vessel.

Nic could only watch, he had no control over his body, the Shadow Lord had told him that he was important for this mission, now he understands why, he is just the Shadow Lords puppet. All he could see is bloodshed, the slaying of innocent people, all he could here was the screams of pain and fear. Once it was over he felt the control return to him, he looked down at his blood coated hands, his body trembling at what he had just witnessed. He ran off towards the river trying desperately to remove the blood from his arms and clothes, once he had managed to remove all the blood he returned to where Dan slept peacefully, he looked down at the small boy, 'he will never know what just happened, I will make sure he doesn't find out' he thought and let himself drift off into sleep.

The next day saw Nic and Dan continuing on their way to Del, they were passing through another village. This one seemed to be in celebration, the whole village was at this festival, the streets were packed with people, the building decorated in bright colours, the sound of music and laughter emanating all around them. They were mesmerised by what was going on around them. Nic lifted Dan on his shoulders so he could get a better view of the celebrations.

"WOW! What do you think is going on Nic?" Dan asked as he shifted on Nic's shoulders.

"Beats me kid, must be something big though." He yelled over the noise of the festival.

They made their way towards the towns inn, hoping that the festival hadn't filled the inn to a breaking point. As they entered the small inn, a little plump women greeted them.

"Why hello travellers welcome to the Parecole inn. Are you interested in getting a room?" the little plump lady asked a small pink tint to her cheeks.

"Umm...yes..yes we would like to rent a room for a couple of nights." Nic said nervously scratching the back of his neck.

"Lovely, well I have one double room available, that will be two gold coins." She replied with a wide smile.

Nic dug into the pocket of his pants and pulling out three gold and several silver coins. Placing them all on the counter in front of the plump old lady. "I believe this is enough." The corners of his mouth lifting slightly into a grin.

The old woman's eyes became as large as saucers at the amount he had placed in front of her. "My dear boy this is way too much for one night." She said as she pushed a large portion of the money towards Nic. He put a hand in front of the pile stoping any attempts at moving it.

"I insist." He said his face taking on a serious expression.

The old woman nodded and placed the money in a small bag under the wooden counter. She turned back to them with a wide smile. "This way please." With that Nic and Dan walked slowly behind the small old lady. After a short walk they stopped in front of a door, she opened it revealing two beds and a table, as well as a separate bathroom. "This will be your room for the night. I'll send Tori up with your dinner in a little while, meanwhile I hope you enjoy your stay with us." She turned and left the two of them to settle down.

"I CALL THIS BED!" Dan yelled breaking the silence as he ran towards the bed furthest away from the door. Nic chuckled at the childish antics Dan showed sometimes. Sighing he headed towards the unoccupied bed and laid down watching the ceiling, the sounds of the festival outside ringing in his ears. Slowly he felt sleep creeping over his tired and worn body and allowed himself to slip into a pleasant sleep.

As a soft knocking reached his ears Nic reluctantly opened his eyes, his vision blurry with sleep, looking over to Dan's bed he noted that the young boy was still asleep. He slowly got out of bed and made his way towards the door. He opened the door, standing in front of him was a girl the same age as him, she definitely was beautiful. She looked up into his jade green eyes, studying his face, he face broke out into a ravishing smile.

"Hello, I'm Tori, ummm here is your dinner." She said as she held out a small tray, a red tint covering her cheeks.

Nic looked down at the small tray of food, taking it from her small hands. He couldn't help but stare at her, her tantalising arctic blue eyes, her soft features, her medium length reddish brown hair brushing against her shoulders as well as perfectly surrounding her face. Suddenly realising he was staring he adverted his gaze to the ground, blood encasing his cheeks in a red glow, he mumbled a thanks placing the tray on the small table near the door. They stood there for a while in silence.

"Well I hope you enjoy the food." Tori said finally breaking the silence. She turned to leave when a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. She turned back around and looked at the man in front of her.

"Wait, can you tell me what this festival is for?" he said his jade green eyes locking with her arctic blue ones.

A soft giggle escaped her lips. "Well of course, this festival is to celebrate the defeat of the evil that plagued Deltora, it is sort of like a second Dragons Night to us."

"Hmm sounds interesting, I haven't been to a festival in a long time." He said in a saddened tone.

Tori looked up at him puzzled. "Really, why not..I mean if you don't mind me asking."

"I-I-I can't remember." He said as he clutched the sides of his head tugging at his hair, he fell to his knees with a grunt.

Tori was now sitting next to him her hands laying on top of his, trying to sooth him. The colour on Nic's cheeks deepened at her actions. After Nic managed to gain control again Tori helped him to his feet.

"You know what would make you feel better?" she asked, looking at him mischievously. He shook his head unsure on where she was going with the question. "If I took you to see the festival, come on it will be fun, I promise." She said with a wide smile across her flawless features. Nic looked back at the small boy who was still sound asleep, he returned his gaze to the smiling girl in front of him and mindlessly nodded. Her smile widened as she grabbed his hand and lead them towards the back door of the inn and into the packed streets.

As they walked through the festival, their eyes catching every bit of colour that floated into their vision, the smell of freshly made dishes filling their nostrils, the loud music echoing everywhere around them. Never had Nic been so mesmerised.

Tori giggled at the expression plastered on his face. "Beautiful isn't it?"

"Yeah." He whispered, his eyes tightening as he stared at the girl walking next to him. Her reddish brown hair swirled around her pretty face as the wind picked up, her blue eyes bright as she soaked in the scenery. She turned to him and smiled, he felt his heart beat rapidly at her intense smile. He turned his attention back to the festival, feeling the blood rush to his cheeks, he subconsciously placed his hands behind his head as they continued to enjoy the sights and sounds around them.

'What are you doing? You don't have time for this! You can't waste anymore time here with this girl. Your mission is to eliminate the royal family not prance around a festival with this girl.' The angered voice of the Shadow Lord echoed around in Nic's mind. 'Yes master, I am sorry.' 'I will remove her if she gets in the way of my plans, just like the small group of travellers.' He mentally winced as the images of the travellers flashed through his mind, blood, screaming faces, fear filled eyes. He screwed his eyes shut hoping that the images would wash away, he felt that same feeling he had before he lashed out on the travellers creeping up his spine. 'I have to get out of here, before I lose it again' he though, he turned on his heel and ran, away from the feeling, away from the fear and towards his mission.

**Well what do you think? This is the longest chapter out of this story so hope you liked it, I am open to ideas if you have any. Hope you are enjoying it so far! Don't forget to review, thanks guys :)**

**-Finalfantasyfreaks13 **


	11. The Journey Begins

**Well since today is my birthday and I was in a cheerful mood I had decided to grace all you who are reading this or are still reading this with a brand spanking new chapter. :)  
>This is the next chapter for Shadow of Darkness, in all honesty I have no idea where it will go after this but let's just hope it good :) thanks for all those who reviewed so far:<strong>

**- Cheeseburgermonkey13  
>- Heavenly-Charm<br>- Blessed Yet Cursed  
>- Deltora quest fan 1<br>- Black Mitz  
>- Alyssa<br>- Koragirl**

**Now on with the story :)**

_RECAP:  
><em>_'What are you doing? You don't have time for this! You can't waste anymore time here with this girl. Your mission is to eliminate the royal family not prance around a festival with this girl.' The angered voice of the Shadow Lord echoed around in Nic's mind. 'Yes master, I am sorry.' 'I will remove her if she gets in the way of my plans, just like the small group of travellers.' He mentally winced as the images of the travellers flashed through his mind, blood, screaming faces, fear filled eyes. He screwed his eyes shut hoping that the images would wash away, he felt that same feeling he had before he lashed out on the travellers creeping up his spine. 'I have to get out of here, before I lose it again' he though, he turned on his heel and ran, away from the feeling, away from the fear and towards his mission._

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Nic ran as fast as his legs would take him, running all the way back to the inn. He burst through the door forcing it off the hinges, his hands taking on a dark red glow. Dan awoken by the sudden commotion and ran to Nic's side.

"NIC, NIC! WHAT'S WRONG?" He yelled frantically.

"No-nothing is wrong, but we must be on our way. Quickly pack your things." He said shoving his hands in the pockets of his pants to shield them from Dan's gaze.

With a questioning look he ran to his bed and shoved all his belongings into his bag and rejoined Nic at the door. With that they were off, leaving the blazing lights of the festival behind them not realising the figure following them in the shadows.

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Leif was in a meeting listening to the monthly report about the events within Deltora, his mind oblivious to the words being said as his thoughts travelled to what Jasmine must be doing being stuck in the forge all the time. A sudden wave of warmth travelled through his body as he thought about his beloved and their unborn child. He was broken out of thoughts when a large hand was placed on his shoulder, he looked up to see friend Barda smiling at him, he returned his smile with one of his own.

"You really should pay attention to these meetings Lief." Barda said with a small smirk.

"Sorry Barda but my mind was somewhere else." Lief chuckled.

Just as Barda was about to answer he was interrupted by the sound of the doors crashing open. They both looked towards the doorway to see a out of breath guard leaning against the door frame to keep himself upright.

"King Lief there has been a terrible murder near the town of Parecole, a small group of travellers were slaughtered!" The guard panted out, still gaining trying to regain his breath.

"What? When did this happen?" Lief asked in shock.

"About 4 days ago, there was 6 travellers, three men, two women and a small child that were heading towards Parecole for the festival. Sadly they were killed not far to the east edge of town. The people require your help to discover the killer before he claims more victims." The guard explained.

Lief was alarmed at the news he had just received, after the defeat of the shadow lord there was a time of peace, now someone was trying to disturb that peace, he had to do something about it. But what of Jasmine he couldn't just leave her alone in her condition, what was he to do? Barda could see Lief struggling to think of what to do, he knew Lief's situation was a hard one.

"Let Lief think about a plan and we will have a meeting for it tomorrow." Barda told the guard who then nodded and left the two friends alone again.

"So Lief what do you plan on doing? It is quite a trip to Parecole."

Lief sighed, placing his head in his hands and tugged at his hair. "I don't know Barda, I can't let these people down and not do anything, I have to help them, but what about Jasmine I can't leave her here all alone while she is pregnant and with all those attacks that happened 5 months ago. I can't help but fear that if I leave that she will be in danger."

"Lief. Jasmine is a strong woman who can take care of herself, even if she is pregnant it doesn't mean she can't keep herself out of harm's way, we both know what she's capable of. Besides there are guards watching her down at the forge 24/7, no one is going to be able to get near her."

Lief looked up at Bard, he was absolutely right. For as long as Lief has known Jasmine she has always been witty and a very fast thinker as well as strong willed and outgoing. He knew she could take care of herself, but being pregnant makes Lief see her as fragile and helpless but Jasmine is the complete opposite of that. He decided he would talk to her about it later tonight and let her know what has been happening.

"Thanks Barda, I really needed to hear that." He said smiling up at his companion.

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after the talk with Barda, Lief decided it was time to return home. He was walking down the path towards the forge, the night giving his surroundings a calm and eerie feeling. He passed the guards that were now on the night duty and gave them a small nod as he continued on his way.

As he opened the gate to the forge he was met with the tantalising smell of Jasmines homemade food, Smiling he quickened his pace. He opened the front door and what waited for him caused a smile to grace his lips. There asleep on the couch was his little Jasmine, her gentle breaths were the only sound filling the empty house. He quietly moved across the room to rest at her side, he watched her, soaking in her features, her gentle skin and ebony hair giving her an angelic like appearance. Carefully as not to wake his sleeping beauty, he placed a blanket over her sleeping form and brushed a stray hair from her face as she snuggled further into the blanket. He will tell her later when she wakes up.

Lief walked into the small kitchen and found a homemade meal that Jasmine obviously made for him, he sat down at the table and began to dig in. After eating a fair share he cleaned the kitchen and went back to the couch.

"Jasmine, Jasmine it's time to get up." He whispered softly in her ear. This only caused her to bury herself deeper into the pillow and let out a soft grunt. Laughing at her reaction he decided to take a different approach, with a devious smile on his face he began to tickle her sides mercilessly.

That worked. She woke with a start glaring at Lief who had an innocent smile on his face, she playfully punched his arm and untangled herself from the blanket and proceeded to hug her husband.

"How was the meeting today? Sorry I feel asleep, must of been more tired then I realised."

"Don't worry about it, the meeting wasn't very good I got some bad news." He said with a sad expression.

Jasmine looked intensively at her husband. "Why what happened?"

"Well there was murder near the town of Parecole, a small group of travellers were slaughtered. The towns people need my help to figure out what happened." He said not meeting her eyes.

"That's terrible, well you need to go help them don't you." After hearing this his head shot up to look at his beloved.

"But - but I can't just leave you here." He said, blue clashing with emerald green.

She sighed and placed her hands over his. "Lief, I'll be fine, I was able to look after myself all those years in the Forest of Silence after all."

" Yes, but back then you weren't as...incapable as you are now." He said gesturing to her bulging stomach.

"That may be true, but there are many here that will protect us. There is no need to worry my love." She said with a gentle smile.

Realising that he had lost the argument, he let his gaze fall to his feet, not willing to meet the eyes of his beloved.

"but what...what if something happens and I lose you, I can't bare for that to happen." A lone tear slid down his cheek.

Jasmine placed her hands on either side of his face and brought his reluctant gaze back onto her, staring intently into his eyes.

"You won't lose me I promise, I'm in safe hands here. If it will put you at ease I will stay in the palace while you are gone." She said as she whipped away his tear.

Lief snaked his arms around her and pulled her close to him, placing a loving kiss to her forehead. " Thank you, my love. Now let's head to bed." Without warning he picked her up earning a squeak from Jasmine as he heads towards their bedroom.

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Nic and Dan had been travelling non-stop since they had left Parecole. They were running out of supplies and were in desperate need for a rest. Fatigue finally catching up to him, Nic stopped his breath ragged and shallow.

"I think (wheeze) we can (wheeze) rest here for now." He said as he grasped a tree for support.

As soon as Dan heard the word rest he happily collapsed to the ground, relived to be off his feet after walking for so long. As they regained their strength a figure loomed in the distance, unaware to the two. The figure walked closer maintaining undetected, reaching for the hood that shaded its features it walked into the view of the two resting. Realising that there was indeed someone there Nic jumped for his sword unsheathing it as Dan ran behind him, clutching onto his leg.

"Who are you?" Nic's voice boomed.

"Nic it's me." The mysterious figure said.

Confused Nic walked closer to the figure, who were they and how did they know him his identity was meant to be concealed. As he stood directly in front of the figure who was concealed, scrunching up his face to try and decipher their identity. The figure chuckled at his antics moved their hands up to the hood and pulled it back to allow him a view of their face. Nic was surprised to say the least at the person who was in front him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked his voice full of surprise.

"I decided that I wanted to come with you." The voice replied.

Nic walked closer to the person and clasped their hands in his own. "I can't allow that, it's not safe with me Tori." He said his gaze never leaving hers.

"I'm not some helpless little girl you know, I am capable of taking care of myself I have for a while now." She said with a sad expression.

Feeling horrible for assuming that he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and squeezed it softly. She moved her gaze from the floor to meet his, the intensity of his glare sending shivers down her spine.

"Alright, if you can prove that you are as capable as you say then you can accompany me and Dan for the rest of our journey." He said in a monotone voice.

Her head snapped up at hearing this and she smiled. "What do you want me to do?"

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Lief's woke early in the morning, he was headed towards Parecole with Barda and a couple of guards later on today and needed to get everything prepared. As he finished packing his pack he walked through the forge to the bedroom he shared with Jasmine, glancing at his sleeping beauty he smiled, god he was going to miss her.

It was time to leave, he grabbed his pack and proceeded to the front door, he stopped when he felt two slender arms wrap themselves around his chest.

"where you really going to leave without saying goodbye?" A soft voice asked.

He turned around and placed her hands in his own and smiled at her. " I would never think of it my love." He pulled her close and placed his lips on hers, they stayed like that for a while not wanting the moment to end. Finally Jasmine pulled away and smiled at him with half lidded eyes.

"You better get going, the faster you go the faster you can come back." She said pulling him into an embrace once again.

"I will be back as fast as I can." He mumbled into her hair, releasing her from his grip he opened the door and headed out into the blazing light of the midday sun.

"Come back safe." She said with a sad smile

"I will, I promise." He replied, he waved her goodbye and headed towards the palace where his journey to Parecole was about to begin.

**Well that's all I have for now I know it's shorter than usual but still hope you all like it and stay in tune for more chapters, school holidays are approaching so I will have much more free time to write and update this story for all those who want to read it :) **

**Till next time my friends :)**

**-Finalfantasyfreaks13 **


	12. The Unexpected Evil

**Well here is chapter 12 of Shadow of Darkness, reviews and ideas are appreciated :)  
>off we go enjoy!<strong>

**Chapter 12 - The Unexpected Evil**

_RECAP:_

_"Alright, if you can prove that you are as capable as you say then you can accompany me and Dan for the rest of our journey." He said in a monotone voice. _

_Her head snapped up at hearing this and she smiled. "What do you want me to do?"_

_"Come back safe." She said with a sad smile_

_"I will, I promise." He replied, he waved her goodbye and headed towards the palace where his journey to Parecole was about to begin. _

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"What do you want me to do?" Tori asked her voiced laced in determination.

Nic gave her a solemn look, would she be able to complete this task? It was worth a try. With a heavy sigh he looked into her eyes, she stared back with twice the intensity.

"After I tell you this you cannot back out, do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal."

Nic closed the gap between them in a few strips, he was now directly in front of Tori his eyes burning. The intensity of his eyes caused Tori's determination to falter, she unknowingly stepped back as her back hit the cool surface of a boulder, with nowhere to move she was now trapped between Nic and the boulder. He stepped forward again placing his hands on either side of her face keeping her in place, he could feel a pull at the back of his mind as he could feel the same sensation of anger and hatred that had coursed through him once before. The Shadow Lord was trying to take over again, he mustered up his willpower and kept these raging feelings at bay, he couldn't lose control. Not again.

His gaze snapped to her eyes, the arctic blue eyes that held pure determination not to long ago now portrayed unease and fear, smirking he brought his face closer to hers whispering in her ear. "If you wish to accompany us, you need to know that there will be no guarantee that you will return alive, if we do indeed survive you will not be able to return here."

She stood there wide eyed, 'what on earth is this man trying to do that could be that dangerous, do I really want to be involved in this? I love Parecole and to never be allowed to return here am I willing to risk that' she thought to herself. Shaking those thoughts out of her head she wasn't going to give in to fear. She could still feel Nic's breathe hitting her skin and she couldn't help but shudder, looking back into eyes she could notice that they had flakes of red, raising a brow in curiosity she saw them flicker to deep red before turning back into their original blazing green. Swallowing up all of her lose thoughts on the matter she pushed on his chest opening the gap between them and squirmed into the open clearing, her aura showing her determination. With a unsteady intake of oxygen she turned around to look him dead in the face, she gave him a small nod.

Taking that as an understanding, Nic chuckled and walked back towards her raising a hand out gesturing her to take his hand. She hesitated but accepted the gesture and let Nic lead her back towards the small camp they had readied. They both looked over at Dan who had somehow through the course of their conversation fallen asleep, quietly as not to wake the small boy they moved towards the fire and settled next to it. Tori watched as the small embers ascended into the dark night sky, she was broken out of her trance at the sound of Nic clearing his throat she turned and gave him her full attention.

"Are you certain that you want to know what this journey entails for us and what we must do because as I said before there is no backing out once you hear." He said in a sombre tone.

She nodded. " I understand but I am willing to go through with this, whatever it may be."

Studying her face he saw no hesitation, no fear, nothing. That was about to change.

"We are going to kill the king of Del."

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Lief, Barda and the small group of royal guards that accompanied them had been travelling for 4 days now and were already on edge, they have heard countless stories that countless about attacks on small towns and villages by grey guards and Ols, it was easy to see that this was the work of the Shadow Lord. Clenching his fists at the thought of the Shadow Lord, how many time does he have to fight him, why does he keep coming back.

Suddenly a screamed echoed through the air, everyone halted, jumping of his horse Lief started running towards the origins if the scream. Barda immediately after his cursing under breathe, finally catching up to Lief he saw a small house engulfed in flames black smoke erupting from the blazing roof. Before Lief could take off again Barda hooked his arms under Leif's restraining him.

"Lief don't just run in there without thinking, what would happen if you were to get hurt or worse die!?" Barda yelled fraught to keep him at bay.

Ceasing his struggling Lief finally took in his words, he couldn't risk injuring himself now. He turned and looked at Barda and nodded and was released from his hold, both ran towards a stream located close to the home buckets in hands and managed to lessen the flames. Then a small sob erupted inside the smouldering house, running inside the house they look franticly for the possible survivor. Barda opened a small cupboard and found what they were looking for, two small children sat huddled up tears streaming down their faces, he gathered the children in his arms and called for Leif and they exited the blackened house.

"We should take these two to healer in the next town." Lief said as they settled on the grass.

The four rested on the grass as the royal guards came making sure that no one was injured, everyone looked at the two small children and saw the distant look they were giving, paying no mid to it they carried the children back towards the horses and placed them with Barda continuing towards Parecole.

Barda noticed that the young children didn't make a noise the whole time and found it a little suspicious but decided not to think much of it.

"Do the two of you have names?" He asked finally breaking the silence.

Thought they didn't respond but continued to stare into the distance, their faces emotionless and bodies ridged. This pushed Barda's suspicion further and he directed his horse towards Lief's and settled next to him.

"Hey Lief, there is something strange about these kids." He whispered trying to lessen the chance of the two children hearing.

Lief gave him a puzzled look, knitting his brows in confusing. "Why do you say that Barda?"

"Well they are awfully quiet for children their age and they don't seem to be paying attention to the things around them, also they have a distant look in their eyes, I don't know something just seems off about them." He Whispered back.

Lief sighed. "Well they were just stuck in a flaming house, maybe they're just in shock. We should find a place to rest soon." He replied looking up at the slowly darkening skies.

The small group found a place and settled down, soon sleep consumed them and they were lost in a deep sleep, unaware of the children's eyes turn into a deep crimson red.

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Tori was in shock to say the least, they were going to kill the king of Del! Why on earth would Nic want to do that, it is because of the king of Del that Deltora is now at peace, that the Shadow Lord has finally been defeated and they were all free to live again. So why?

She looked at his face that showed how serious this was she spoke the only word that came into her mind. "Why?"

Nic looked away, but still feeling her gaze burning holes in the back of his head. "It is because that is what my master has ordered of me and so I must complete what he desires."

She crawled closer to him placing a hand on him shoulder, he looked at her his face portraying a sense of pain. "Just who is your master and why do you have to do this if you don't want to, I can see that it pains you to do this." She said with a soft voice.

"It's better if you didn't know who he is if you knew it would only put you in danger. I have no choice in the matter I am nothing but his puppet, nothing but a tool for his plans." He said as he tightly clenched his fists turning his knuckles white.

Tori then grasped his hands in her own squeezing them in reassurance. "It's okay Nic, we will find a way to free you from this so don't you worry." She told him with a small smile.

He stared at her wide eyed, but squeezed her hands in return and he felt his anger and pain disappear just at her touch. He looked at her face and couldn't help but be tantalised by her beauty, even in the dim light of the night her blue eyes were still vibrant and held so much strength, he felt himself becoming lost in her blue orbs and soon found himself inching closer to her as she did the same their faces mere millimetres apart.

Just as they were about to close the small gap between their lips, sheer pain burst up his body he pulled back and held his head as it felt as it was about to explode. That familiar feeling of anger and rage crashed on his mind. No this couldn't be happening now. Soon the pain became unbearable as he withered in pain, trying to keep the murderous thoughts of the Shadow Lord at bay. Tori was looking on in horror, 'what on earth was happening to him what should I do' was the only thing going through her head as she watched him whimper in pain clutching the sides of his head, his eyes wide with fear. She grasped his shoulders but he violently pulled himself from her grasp.

"Nic what's wrong!" she practically yelled at him.

His response was another screech that escaped his lips as he continued to convulse on the cool grass, he managed to pull himself on his knees his stomach twisted and churned and soon the contents of his stomach were splayed across the lush grass. Heaving in air that his lungs were restricted of he felt his body beginning to burn an intense feeling that surrounded his whole being. The whole commotion had awoken Dan from his slumber as he ran over to see what was happening, he was met with the sight of Nic in sheer pain he looked at Tori who had a hand covering her mouth and tears were evident in the corners of her eyes.

"Tori what happened?" Dan asked not taking his eyes of Nic.

"I-I-I don't know we were just talking and suddenly he started yelling in pain and grasping his head he wouldn't let me help or anything." She said as the dam broke and her tears began to overflow from her eyes.

Dan ran up to Nic's side and grabbed his shoulders and shook him with all the strength his body could muster while he yelled at him trying to snap him out of his situation but this only made it worse. His body began to take on a deep red glow Dan immediately let go of him and stumbled backwards as he saw the glow slowly start to lick up his body. A cynical laughter erupted from his throat as he looked up towards Dan and Tori, his eyes were crimson red and he pulled his body up so he was standing.

**"Well looks like I finally managed to regain control of you huh Nic, all you had to do was lower your guard for a second, tsk you are so troublesome, why couldn't you just listen to what I told you to do instead of spending all your time with that useless girl over there. Ohh well it will soon be over for her." **The Shadow Lord said through Nic.

Tori pulled Dan close to her and held him protectively as she began to walk away from Nic...no from the monster that was in front of her. "What is wrong with you Nic!" she shouted at him. All she got in return was a dark chuckle as Nic looked at her his red eyes making her shake in fear.

**"Ha-ha I'm not your beloved Nic you insolent trash, although I must thank you, you finally let this boy slip up his defences and allowed me to regain control of his puny little mind. Now I can get this small task over and done with without and distractions, finally your life will be over soon king of Del."**

Tori then did something she didn't even think about she let Dan go and ran up to the possessed Nic and wrapped her arms tightly around his chest, the glow was beginning to burn her skin but she refused to let go, she could feel Nic start to flail around trying to get her off but this only made her hold on tighter. She could feel tears begin to stream out of her tightly closed eyes.

"Nic please I know you're stronger than this, don't let him control you anymore!" She shouted as he continued to thrash about. She then felt his stiffen and push her off and stumble backwards clutching his head again.

**"What do you think you are doing you insignificant little brat, I am your master and you ****WILL**** listen to me. Don't think you will be getting out of this task either I hold your life in my hands and don't think I can't easily end it so you better pull out the courage and kill the king of Del or I won't hesitate to ****KILL YOU****." **The possessed Nic yelled at no-one in particular.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD" Nic yelled again but this time in his normal voice.

He continued to fight within his mind as Tori and Dan watched on in horror what was happening they both thought. Tori felt weak and slumped to the floor of the clearing, Dan ran to her side and began to shake her attempting to get her to regain consciousness but she was out cold. His eyes widened as he saw her arms that were covered in burns as well as the underline of her neck, running to the camp he brought back water and some bindings and began to work on her arms and neck as Nic continued to fight the Shadow Lord for control.

After a while Nic managed to regain control as the deep red glow slowly reseeded of his body and his eyes turned back to their normal green colour. He gasped for air as his tired body began to lose balance and he tumbled to the clearing floor his vision began to black out as his body gave out from exhaustion.

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Lief woke to the morning light hitting his face, he arose and rubbed the sleep away from his eyes as he sleepily made his way towards the river. He dipped his hands in to the water and brought it up to hi s face the instant the cool liquid came in contact with his skin he felt his tiredness disappear and he felt rejuvenated.

He made his way back to the small camp his group had set up and he woke up Barda, soon everyone was awake. Just as they were about to leave one of the guards came running from the trees shouting for help. They all followed the guard back into the trees and found the mangled bodies of 2 of the guards that had come along.

Lief was horrified, he moved closer to the bodies and examined them, if it wasn't for what their armour looked like they would of been unrecognisable. Their faces were literally ripped to shreds, one had missing limbs the other disemboweled, what kind of creature had done this.

The group after burying their lost brothers got back on their way towards Parecole, the ride was silent as everyone was shocked at what had happened. Lief looked down at the belt and his eyes narrowed as he noticed that the emerald and ruby were both pale, something was terribly wrong.

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Days later found Lief, Barda and their group of guards at a small town called Trosina, this small but thriving town enabled the group to enjoy a proper meal and a place to stay as well as a healer to check the two children they had brought with them.

Lief and Barda took the two children to the healer, the children hadn't said a word the whole time they were travelling with them, their faces always remained emotionless and their eyes empty. Lief kept looking at the belt, the ruby and emerald were still pale, something was following them as ever since that day they had been pale.

The healer came out after a while and beaconed the two of them to come into the room, they followed without protest and placed the two kids on the only bed and proceeded to sit in the vacant chairs. The healer was a middle aged woman, who had dirty blonde hair and brown eyes, she showed slight wrinkles around her forehead. She smiled widely at the two.

"It is an honour to have you in our town king of Del, now what is it that I can help you with?" she said her smile widening slightly.

"It's my pleasure. Well on our way here we found these two children in a burning house, we managed to get them out in time but they don't seem to be acting as children should, they haven't said a word since we rescued them." Lief replied with a small smile.

The healer nodded and turned her attention to the children that were settled on the bed, as she began to examine them her eyes widened in fear and she started shaking, she screamed in horror and scrambled as far as she could clutching her frantic heart. Leif and Barda ran over to her and tried to calm her down, but she would simply shake her head and scream.

"Ma'am what's wrong?" They both yelled.

She stared at them eyes full of fear. "You must get out of here these things will be the death of us!" She yelled back as she broke free of their hold and ran out of the room.

Lief and Barda looked back at the children unsheathing their swords as their bodies began to tremble and changes, their skin broke away as it was replaced by dark back like smoke and their eyes were now dark red, Barda and Lief ran at them swinging their swords slicing through the smoke but the smoke would just go back to how they were. Realising that it was useless Barda and Lief ran out of the door using what they had at their disposal barricaded the door and ran towards the centre of the town. The townsfolk were all evacuating at the news of the attack leaving Lief, Barda and their small group of guards left.

Suddenly a loud explosion sounded and all attention was on the building that Lief and Barda were in not too long ago as the roof crumbled in and the walls crashed to the ground, the two black creatures grew even further as they destroyed everything around them.

"We need to stop these things before they destroy the whole town, everyone get ready to fight." Lief ordered as the guards withdrew their swords, bows and spears and got into a fighting stance awaiting the order to go. The creatures released a loud howl and one reached down and managed to grab one of the townsfolk, the man screamed and struggled to get out of the black smoke that encased his lower body. The man's screams and struggling suddenly stopped as the creature dropped his lifeless body and it tumbled to the ground like a ragdoll, the group watched on in horror at what had just occurred.

Lief grit his teeth in anger and raised his sword high above his head, "ATTACK!" As soon as those words left his mouth all hell broke loose, arrows and spears went flying through the air and propelled in to the two black creatures. One of the spears managed to hit one of the creatures dead in the eye and it let out a blood curdling howl that shook the ground.

'That's it!' Lief thought to himself. "Everyone aim for their eyes there it's weakness!"

Again a bombardment of spears and arrows went flying through the air at the two creatures who with every hit began to shrink in size only a few more and they would be at a manageable size. The creatures were finally the same size as a standard person all the guards ran forward and let everything lose as they lay hit after hit on the creatures. They soon vanished from the onslaught of blows they received, disappearing into nothingness. It was over.

Lief wiped his brow of sweat and he moved his gaze to the belt, the ruby and emerald finally returning to their original colours, he smiled. Soon they would reach Parecole and figure out what happened and he would return home to Jasmine, just thinking about her made a wide smile spread across his face, god he loved her.

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Jasmine had never been as bored as she was right now, of course she wasn't allowed anywhere except the palace and the forge, she spent most of her time in the palace library with Marilen and small son Josef. The two had become extremely close over the years. Jasmine let out another loud sigh as she sat in one of the many vacant chairs and stared at the ceiling.

Marilen looked over at her and shook her head while giving out a small giggle. The sound of her giggling brought Jasmines attention to her and she cocked her head to the side and knitted her eye brows in confusion.

"What so funny Marilen?" she asked clearly confused at the sudden laughter.

"Ohh nothing, it's just you." She said as she giggled again.

This confused Jasmine even more, had she done something funny without realising it. Her thoughts were brought back to the reality as her stomach rumbled, she looked down and rubbed her rounded stomach, she smiled soon she would hold her child in her arms, sighing she got out of her seat stretching her arms above her head sighing in relief as she felt the crack of her back. She looked out the window.

'Come home soon Lief.' She thought as she made her way towards the palace kitchen.

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Nic grunted as he tried to sit up, he felt all his muscles were stiff and as soon as he moved one finger a horrible pain shot through his body. He cracked open a green eye and looked around to figure out what happened, the last thing he remembered was sitting at the fire with Tori, his face flushed red as he thought back to what they were about to do. Taking in a deep breath he pushed himself off the sheet he was lying on instantly regretting that decision as his body pain shot through his whole being with a groan he got up and made his way towards the small fire that flickered not too far away.

As he reached the fire he sat back down and stared at the flickering orange flames as they danced with the wind. A small gasp snapped his attention behind him as he saw Tori as she dropped the small bucket of water she was carrying and ran towards him and tackled him in a bone crushing hug. Nic yelled but despite the pain returned the hug, she looked up at him as tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.

"I was so worried about you, you were out for 5 days!" She said as a smile formed on her face.

5 days? 5 DAYS!? He had been out for 5 whole days what on earth happened to him. He looked back up to Tori with a smile, but that soon dropped and was replaced with a look of deep thought. Tori noted this and looked quizzically at him.

"What's wrong" she finally asked.

"What exactly happened to me?"

"You don't remember?" she sounded surprised, was he meant to know?

He simply shook his head, he then notices the bandages that covered her arms and a small part of her neck, he narrowed his eyes and growled lowly. "Who did that to you." He said in deep voice.

Tori looked down at her bandaged arms and then back into his eyes, her eyes looked hurt and saddened. She sighed before saying, "It was you, well it was you but then again it wasn't."

"What do you mean it was me but it wasn't." He was really confused at this point.

"Well you were possessed by your master and I ran and hugged you to try and make you see reason and regain control of yourself and I guess it worked because straight after you started fighting him in your head and I don't know what happened next."

He simply stood their eyes wide and mouth agape, 'not again, I thought I had control but I must have slipped up, dammit! You can't keep letting him do that as long as you complete his request you should be fine, remember he can kill as at anytime.' He thought to himself.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled

"Huh? Why are you apologising for it wasn't your fault."

"It is my fault, I let him take control again after everything I did to try and stop him he still made his way through. I'm still weak." His voice was shacking and his fist were clenched tightly at his sides, he refused to look her in the eye. He felt a warm hand rest upon his cheek, he opened his eyes to see Tori sitting in front of him her reddish-brown hair framed her face and her arctic blue eyes were as vibrant as ever. She smiled at him, he felt his heart melt.

"You're not weak, if anything you're the strongest person I've ever met I mean you were able to regain control of yourself again so you are stronger then you think so don't beat yourself up over this okay?" she smiled again.

Nic returned the smile as he nodded, the two sat in silence for a while until they heard the light patters of shoes hitting the grass they looked up and saw Dan running with his arms full of berries and other fruits that he found around the forest. Once he saw that Nic was awake, the food he was holding tumbled to the floor as he ran at Nic jumping into his arms knocking him to the floor.

"You're finally awake, I thought you would never get up." He said with s sniffle.

Nic ruffled his messy brown locks and smiled. "Well I'm up now and we can go soon, we still have some ways to go before we get to Del." He said as he places Dan back on the floor and went to help pick up the fallen fruit.

Later they were packed and ready to go they would be walking for a at least three more weeks before they would reach Del, Nic clenched his firsts as he thought about what would happen once he gets there, he was certain he wouldn't make it back alive, but the least her could do was let Tori and Dan get away.

'Soon king of Del, you shall meet your fate as I will meet mine' he thought as he looked at the full moon that graced the dark night sky with light.

**Well how was that? **

**Hope it's to your liking, it's currently 4:20am I have never been up this long writing a chapter before :)**

**Reviews appreciated, spread the love!**

**Till next time **

**-Finalfantasyfreaks13 **


	13. Closer To The Truth

_**Welcome back to Shadow of Darkness, haven't updated in a while I know. I'm holidays and probably should be studying for my trial HSC but ohh well.  
>Anyway here is the new chapter. <strong>_

_RECAP:_

_Later they were packed and ready to go they would be walking for a at least three more weeks before they would reach Del, Nic clenched his firsts as he thought about what would happen once he gets there, he was certain he wouldn't make it back alive, but the least her could do was let Tori and Dan get away._

_'Soon king of Del, you shall meet your fate as I will meet mine' he thought as he looked at the full moon that graced the dark night sky with light._

CHAPTER 13 - Closer To The Truth

Leif and Barda were almost at the town of Parecole, after travelling nonstop they were sighing in relief when they saw the large gates that secluded the town from the outside world. Since the mass attack within near their town the citizens refused to let people in and out of the gates in fear that more would fall as a result. When they reached the gates Lief searched for guards stationed at the watch posts, all the while blocking the sun's rays with his hand.

Looking back at Barda he shrugged his shoulders unsure of what to do. Suddenly a voice broke the tranquillity of silence that settled over the two friends.

"Who are you and what do you want!" The voice hollered

Unable to see the owner to the voice Lief opted to shout back to the obviously hesitant guards trembling voice.

"I am Lief, King of Deltora. I am here to figure what happened to the small group of travellers that were killed not far from here."

There was a short silence until Lief and Barda heard the sharp sounds of the cranks and levers within the gates and the groaning of the wood in protest as the gates slowly opened to reveal a small old man, head smeared with white hairs that travelled past his shoulders and brushed softly against his lower back. He was dressed in a dark tunic that seemed a little too large on his small stature as it dragged lazily across the ground.

"Welcome to Parecole King Leif we have been expecting you. Please follow me." He said with a small bow of his head before heading down the path towards the town.

Lief and Barda willingly followed the old man catching up to him rather quickly due to his slow pace and falling into place to his left. The walk was silent as they passed houses and citizens who mumbled incoherent words that were undistinguishable from Lief's distance. Soon they came to a rather large building that was slightly dilapidated and in clear need of some repairs, they again followed the old man as he hobbled towards a desk that lay rest at the back of the room.

The old man carefully placed himself in the chair and looked at the young king and his companion motioning towards the two vacant chairs in a silent request. Understanding his plea the two friends plopped down in the chairs and stared intently at the man.

"Thank you for answering our request, this whole incident has had my citizens as well as myself on edge. I am Pheidias the mayor of this humble little town as you can see your presence has created a stir in the residents that reside here, they are anxious to figure out what happened." Pheidias said with a small smile as he introduced himself before regaining his serious expression.

"We only know minimal information to what occurred can you give us a more in depth analysis of what happened?" said Barda receiving a small nod from the old man across from them.

"As you vaguely aware a small group of travellers were making their way towards the city after leaving Likolea days earlier, however close to here they were brutally cut down by an unknown individual whose actions were both atrocious and unpardonable."

"Do you know who was in the small group?" Barda inquired

"Yes, the group consisted of three men, two women and 1 small child. None survived." The old man replied through gritted teeth. Leif visibly stiffened at the news that a child was slain, images of Jasmine and their child flashed through his mind at the thought.

Shaking his head to rid his mind of the though and regaining his composure Leif snapped his attention back to Pheidias as he continued his explanation.

"Sadly we have no leads on who the individual is, however we do know that they travelled from the south and it seems they are continuing south, headed towards Del."

Barda glanced over at Leif surprise written all over his face, while Lief had a distant emotionless look as he stared at the space between his feet. Thousands of thoughts and questions travelled through Lief's mind as he tried to let the information sink into his mind, this crazed maniac is headed for Del? What purpose would they have there? Could they be after Jasmine? Why?

Lief jumped to his feet startling both Barda and Pheidias. "Thank you for your help Pheidias, I will head back to Del immediately and insure this murderer is dealt with." Lief said as he bowed low for the old man.

Pheidias nodded in response and called two guards forward to accompany the King and his companion to the gates. The two bowed again and followed the two guards back through town and to the large wooden gates that adorned the stone walls. Once they were out of the perimeter of the gates it slammed shut behind them rendering the town once again separated from the wilderness.

"So what's the plan Lief?" Barda said after the momentary silence

"We have to get back to Del immediately to insure everyone is safe and to catch this guy before he can cause anymore damage." Leif replied as he mounted his horse. Shortly after they were on their way back to Del, one thought played repeatedly through Lief's mind as they walked away from Parecole.

'Who are you?'

XXXXXXXXX

Nic, Tori and Dan walked in silence through the dark forest, the only sounds residing around them were the occasional hoot of an owl or the rustle of leaves as a soft wind travelled through the canopy above them. They trod unsteadily through the darkness Nic in the front followed closely by Tori who held the small of hand of Dan tightly in her own as he walked closely by her side.

They had been walking since earlier that morning and their muscles were crying out in protest, strained from their continued use over the span of the day. Finally they gave out and they reluctantly took shelter in the open roots of a large tree, a fire blazing in the middle supplying light in the surrounding darkness. Dan had settled beside Tori and feel asleep almost immediately clutching the older girls skirt tightly in his hands as his head came to rest in her lap, over the course of their travels Dan has become incredibly close to Tori seeing her as a mother figure, which she didn't seem to protest, and didn't usually leave her side unless Nic requested him to help.

Nic and Tori had also become closer during the time they spent together creating a bond similar to that of close friends, each night they would talk to one another and soon their friendship blossomed and both found a comforting feeling being seen as important to another. As Dan slept peacefully in the older girls lap, Nic and Tori spoke in hushed voices as to allow the boy some rest.

"How much longer do you reckon it will take to get to Del?" Tori asked as her fingers brushed absentmindedly through the young boys unruly light brown hair.

Looking up from the fire Nic started counting with his fingers, mumbling softly to himself as he calculated, after a minute or two of incoherent mumbling he turned to face Tori, staring intently into her blue eyes which sparkled with the dancing flames.

"Roughly about eleven to twelve days, give or take a few days." He replied sheepishly scratching the back of his head and bringing it ruffle his hair before coming to rest on his propped knee.

Tori nodded feeling the grip of sleep pulling her towards unconsciousness, before she knew it she was blissfully asleep leaving Nic to his thoughts. Nic once again turned his head to look at the woman that rested beside him, her lips parted slightly as she slept, her hair coming to rest over her face, strands moving slightly as she exhaled. Her face portrayed a peaceful expression one of innocence and unknowing of what was to come. Nic slowly moved his hand to brush the stray hairs away from her face placing them softly behind her ear, giving him a clearer view of her face. Was he really going to put her through all the hardships that seemed to loom over them as a result of his masters obsession with removing the King of Deltora from existence, a small smile graced his features as she stirred in her sleep bringing his hand closer to her face before drifting off again into a peaceful slumber. Retracting his hand he knew it was wrong of him to involve both Dan and Tori in his endeavours to kill the King of Deltora, he would go in alone when the time comes but for now her enjoyed their company. Sighing he let his body succumb to sleeps embrace and drifted into slumber.

XXXXXXXXXXX

_Nic found himself in the embrace of the darkness unable to see anything around him, he could feel the coolness on metal against his wrists, shackles. He struggles against them trying unsuccessfully to remove himself from the restraint, sweat travelled down his temple from his efforts as he trashed violently against the cold chains. _

_Maniacal laughter brought him out of his struggle as he looked around frantically to find the source of the laughter, his eyes skimmed the darkness trying to find something, anything in the darkness that surrounded him, his efforts were in vain as the laughing continued in the darkness around him. Desperate to get away from the horrid laughter he struggled harder against the shackles that dug into his flesh the more he thrashed and moved, digging further and further into his skin rubbing painfully against the now bloody wrist. _

_The laughter only got louder and louder, he could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he continued to struggle against the metal shackles. _

_"So you think you can protect them against me do you?" A dark voice boomed through the pitch blackness, red eyes shone contrastingly against the black surrounding them. The voice began to laugh once again as Nic stared into the piercing red eyes._

_"No one is safe against me, you will all die at my hands and it is all thanks to you Nicholas." The voice echoed through the darkness. _

_Nic's eyes widened, because of him everyone will be collected by deaths bitter embrace soon enough no one will be able to escape and it was because of him._

_The darkness began to recede revealing a figure before him, head bowed a sinister chuckle escaped its lips as it began trembling as its chuckle escalated into a uncontrollable fit of laughter. Nic again struggled against his restraints trying to escape its presence. _

_The figure stopped its manacle laughter and stood still once again, Nic didn't stop his struggling however he watched the figure, something about it looked similar but he couldn't piece together what it was. Then the figures head shot up red eyes blazing, filled with darkness and evil. Nic stumbled back at what he saw, the same green eyes, untameable light brown hair that stood up at all different angles and even the patch of stubble that adorned its chin. He was looking into the red eyes of an exact replica of himself surrounded in a dark red glow._

_"WHO ARE YOU? WHATS GOING ON?!" Nic screamed, struggling once again to get free._

_The other Nic simply laughed before stepping closer to Nic. "I am you, the part of you that you didn't know existed, the dark part that is fuelled by chaos and bloodshed. Alas don't you see I was the one who killed those travellers with the help of the Shadow Lord, he was the one that placed me inside of you as the perfect weapon. We will be unstoppable." _

_"NO. I REFUSE TO HELP YOU, YOU AREN'T ME! I WOULD NEVER DO THAT!" Nic shouted back, thrashing his legs in vain. _

_"Believe what you want but I am as much a part of you as you are of me. As I said before no one can escape me, you can't protect that useless girl or that puny child from me. I WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING YOU CARE ABOUT!" _

_The darkness shifted and the image of Tori and Dan laying lifeless on the floor morphed from the previous display. Dark Nic chuckled above the lifeless corpses resting his bloodied sword on his shoulder with one hand and licking the smeared blood of his other while staring at the still struggling Nic. He then dropped his sword and slowly walked towards Nic, his red eyes dancing with amusement, he stepped close to Nic bringing his lips close to his ear._

_"You see no one is safe, not even yourself." He whispered before bringing his hands around Nic's neck and began to strangle him, he was helpless to stop him and soon he invited death as black began to dance across his vision._

_"NOW DIE!"_

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"NOOOOOOOO!" Nic shouted as he sat up gasping for breath clutching his neck, sweat covered his body. He looked to his left and saw the still slumbering Tori and Dan, he brought his hands up and rubbed his eyes proceeding to wipe the sweat from his brow, it was just a dream.

He got up and moved to the small stream a little ways from where they had set up camp, dipping his hands in the water he shuddered as the ice cold water nipped at his skin and splashed his face, letting the droplets of water slowly slide down his face and back into the stream. He stared at his reflection in the water, blurry from the ripples caused by the falling droplets, and brought his hand up to his face and prodded here and there, sighing he walked back towards camp and unceremoniously plopped himself down next to Tori, who slowly stirred and sluggishly opened her eyes and looked at Nic who was pale and his eyes unfocused on the fire. She slowly placed her hand on his knee startling the man who turned his head to look at her.

"Hey are you alright?" She asked quietly, watching closely to see his reaction.

What happened next startled her to say the least, Nic had wrapped his arms around her slim waist crushing her against his body and placing his head in the crook of her neck. Tori slowly brought her arms up and wrapped them around the man and let him rest on her shoulder, although she wouldn't admit it she enjoyed the feeling of being in his arms.

Being in her embrace Nic calmed down almost immediately and soon sleep once again consumed them, the traumas of earlier forgotten and a small smile was on both their sleeping faces.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lief sat beside the sleeping Barda, it was his turn to keep watch, the information Pheidias gave them gave the young king some idea of what they were dealing with, a merciless killer that slashed a blade without a second thought, he had to get back to Del to make sure everyone knew the danger this person posed. His thoughts once again thought of his wife and unborn child, he knew there were guards watching them every day, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen, he looked at the belt to make sure the emerald and ruby were the not pale. To his relief they both remained the same colour.

Laying back down he let his mind wander, he thought of his unborn child and what they would look like, would they have his personality or Jasmines, would it be a boy or a girl. He smiled at these thoughts, he couldn't wait, slowly his eyes began to close and soon he drifted into a pleasant slumber with a smile etched on his lips.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The morning after brought a surprise to Nic and Tori as they awoke to find themselves wrapped in each other's arms, they quickly jumped apart a deep blush spread across their cheeks as they realised that they fell asleep like that.

Dan awoke due to all the movement and stared at the older two curiously, whilst rubbing his eyes, he had obviously missed something during his slumber and he was determined to know what it was. He slowly stood up and grasped Tori's sleeve and shook her softly.

"Hey Tori what happened your face is all red, are you sick?" He asked innocently.

Tori shook her head and smiled at the little boy. "No everything is fine, isn't that right Nic?"

Nic unable to process any words simply nodded his head, the small boy knitted his eyebrows at their strange behaviour but brushed it away after his stomach let out a loud rumble in demand for food. They all chuckled and settled down for breakfast they had another days of travel ahead of them if they wanted to make it to Del in time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lief and Barda were once again packing up their camp and getting ready to ride back to Del, at the speed they were going they would get there within the week. Getting on their horses they proceeded down the dirt track, it was a little to quite for their liking but they pressed on keeping a close eye on their surroundings.

After about half a day of travelling they spotted something in the distance of the forest, expecting the worst they unsheathed their swords and proceeded further into the forest when they got closer they realised that it was three individuals, one man with light brown unruly hair, a woman whose reddish-brown hair danced delicately around her and between the two grasping onto the woman's hand was a young boy whose head was adorned with light brown hair.

The pair could hear faint sections of their conversation, only small snippets. However they were able to deduce that the older man's name was Nic. Seeing that they posed no threat Lief and Barda headed over to the trio and stopped right in front of them.

Nic was surprised at the two men in front of him one not much older than himself with brown hair, dressed in a light blue tunic over a black jumpsuit with a dark blue cloak draped over his shoulders. His eyes never wavered from this one man.

"Who are you?" Tori asked politely to the new comers.

"I am Lief, King of Deltora and this is Barda. Where are you three headed?"

Nic's eyes widened, no it couldn't be could it?

**I leave you with a cliffhanger, I apologize**

**Stay tuned for more sometime in the future, I thank all those of you that have reviewed, favorite and follow this story :)**

**Till next time **

**-Finalfantasyfreaks13 **


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